Photo Plus Day 2 & 3, Lighting Notes, Panel Notes

Friday was day two of Photo Plus and what a day. There was a large turn out at the conference and it was just crazy busy. Sometimes do you ever just stop and wonder, wow... how did I pack so much in to a 24 hour period? Yesterday was one of those days. Saturday was just as busy.

In the morning I got up very early to take care of some work ("real work", not the fun stuff), and then arrived at the Javits Center around 11:15. I dropped off some equipment that that Unique Photo booth and wandered around the floor with my mother and boyfriend.

At 1:00 I showed up at the Unique Photo booth to set up for my lighting talk and demo to take place at 1:30. The person before me ran a bit behind, so I was in a bit of a hurry to get things set up. I was very pleased because every seat was filled... dozen of people were standing around the edges to listen.

Lets just say that when the presentation was done with, I felt that the rest of my presentations would HAVE to go smoothly to make up for this one. Its crazy! First the screen didn't work, then my mic, then the lights, then the tether cord. Thankfully my presentation was well received and even with technical difficulties dozens of people stayed (I watched carefully and would have been horrified if people left!)... but people asked insightful question, engaged with me, and I think the presentation itself went quite well.

For those of you who you'd like to see the notes, I've provided them here. I had several compliments from people who said they love how clearly and simply I present information. Other times photography presenters tend to make things more difficult and complicated then required. I take pride in trying to lay it out in the more simple and practical way possible.

After that presentation I hurried over to the speaker room to drop of equipment and head to my new media panel discussion. From 3:45-6pm we covered a wide array of pretty fantastic information (in my opinion). From 50 tips for utilizing Twitter, to how to make LinkedIn work for you as a photographer, we provided practical tips on actually utilizing social media to make money and grow your business.

Lindsay Adler Book Signing after Photo Plus panel presentation 2010

Everything went smoothly, lots of great questions, and I've included my notes below. Also please visit Trevor Current's Photo Plus page to receive notes from him and the other speakers.

After that presentation I had to drop off equipment at the studio, run home to change, run back to dinner with my panel friends, and then off to the Photo Expo Bash on the Intrepid.

It was very very cool. After entering the Intrepid, all the walls were lit with beautiful colored lights. As you walked back toward the aft, there was fantastic music blaring. I made my way back with my lovely boyfriend, Joel, and there were hundreds and hundreds of people having a great time. The first thing I saw when I got to the 'party' area were several body painted models with elaborate lighting setups being photographed. I actually knew one of the models (previously did an editorial with me) and we chatted awhile. I was quickly invited to the VIP room... which made me feel SUPER important. In there I chatted with the amazing people at Unique Photo (who sponsored the party), met with some former students, chatted with fellow lecturers, and more. It was a pretty great event. If I look at where I was this time last year, it is an incredible transformation. I plan to do a blog post on this soon. But (in short) last year I knew almost no one, so I didn't attend the event. This year, I never spent a minute not talking. I knew people left and right, or people knew me... and it was just a night of great conversation.

Look for that blog post on my 1 year transformation... I'm excited to share it so you can all see a real-life example of what asking, and marketing and networking can do for a person.

Saturday was a great conclusion to the week's events. I spoke at the Unique Photo booth to share a presentation on the topic of my next book, "Fashion Flair for Portrait and Wedding Photography". Every seat was full and the standing room around the booth was full. A completely full crowd! It was very rewarding to see that. Both my parents were there to watch as well (and one of my college best friends), and its always nice to see people close to you coming out and supporting you.

Lindsay Adler presentations for Unique Photo at Photo Plus, NYC 2010

After dinner with the family Joel (my boyfriend) and I spent hours prepping our costumes for the Broncolor, Resource Magazine, Flug party in Dumbo, Brooklyn. We painted each other's faces and our outfits were inspires by the Jay Z video "On to the Next One" (there is a guy who looks a bit skeleton-like in a black jacket/suit). Thought I'd share our creepy halloween costume below! The party was great... pretty much all photo people running around snapping photos of each other in crazy costumes at different studio setups. My favorite costumes were Ruffio (from the movie hook) and a couple who were dressed as s'mores. On the subway I even saw a guy dressed as a giant minotaur (with 2ft tall platform hooves). Halloween in NY is a GREAT time.

Lindsay Adler and Joel Chapman in costume at the Resource Magazine, Broncolor Party in Dumbo, Brookly, Photo by Jim Reed